Tag Archives: Parents

Most parents who learn about Sound Therapy also choose to use it for themselves. Parents can use Sound Therapy to improve sleep and energy, reduce stress and deal with the daily demands of parenting. Listening along with your child can be fun and rewarding.

Prenatal Listening and Sound Therapy

In prenatal life, s ound is the first sense to develop fully. The foetus’ ear is ready to perceive sound at four and a half months. The baby listens to its mother’s heartbeat, respiration and digestive sounds. Dr Tomatis believes that the baby can also hear the mother’s voice and becomes familiar with this sound before birth. Tomatis discovered that the first sounds heard in utero are high frequency sounds (above 8,000 Hz) due to the development of the embryonic ear. Birth is often a traumatic event in which the child is pushed from the familiar and protected environment of the womb into a totally unknown world, to begin the process of learning to communicate with others.

The Effect of Sound Therapy

Dr Tomatis says the sound of the mother’s voice with its familiar tone and rhythm is what provides continuity between the pre-natal and post-natal worlds. The infant is particularly accustomed to the high frequency sounds of the voice as heard in the womb, and therefore has an immediate response of feeling reassured when presented with high frequency sounds filtered to a similar level. When the mother listens to Sound Therapy during her pregnancy, the benefits which she receives are passed on to the infant.

The effects of listening for the mother are soothing of her whole system and a stimulation to the cortex of the brain from the high frequency sound. Because of its connection with the vital pneumogastric (Vagus) nerve, the ear plays a part in nearly everything we feel including heartbeat and breathing or sensations like a tickle in the throat or butterflies in the stomach. The effects of the Sound Therapy are therefore passed through the mother’s whole body and have an influence on the development of the foetus.

How to listen

It is recommended that the mother listens regularly to Sound Therapy throughout her pregnancy. To obtain the full benefits of improved sleep, reduced stress and increased energy, the recommended listening time for an adult is three hours a day. This can be done during other activities however, so does not require the time to be set aside for listening alone.

Effects for the infant

When a child has been born to a mother who has been listening regularly to Sound Therapy, and the headphones are placed on the baby’s ears straight after birth, it will immediately stop crying, feeling relieved of the sudden isolation and separateness. Babies who’s mothers listened to Sound Therapy during pregnancy show a distinct lack of tension and anxiety as they grow. They have an inner peacefulness about them and are less reactive, making them easy to manage. They feel secure in their relationship with their mother and will go easily to other people. They have a natural appreciation for classical music and can continue to benefit from its healing properties. Studies have shown that children exposed to classical music before birth are more intelligent. It can also be beneficial for these children to listen to Sound Therapy as they grow and this may facilitate their development of communication and languages skills.

The Mother’s Voice Technique

Sound Therapy International now offers a miniature Electronic Ear which can be purchased for use in the home. The “Sound Therapy Converter” can be connected to speakers or headphones and will convert any music or voice tapes into Sound Therapy. Now the child can listen to a tape of its own mother’s voice as Sound Therapy through the Converter. This technique offers profound healing and is an important part of the Tomatis program, especially for children with serious problems. A Voice Attachment is also available which allows the child to hear its own voice through the Converter as it is speaking.

The Converter is usually introduced after an initial period of using the tapes. See our Product Catalogue for more details on the Sound Therapy Converter.